Keywords
SARS-CoV-2
Pandemic
Schools
Children
Adolescents
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to the closure of schools and the beginning of virtual education, as a measure to reduce the spread of the virus. However, there is likely a rejection of parents to return to classes in person. For this reason, the factors possibly associated with this opposition were evaluated. Material and methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out through an online survey aimed at parents who attend private clinics with their children, in several cities of Colombia. The percentage of parents who wished to maintain their children›s schooling through virtuality and the factors associated with not accepting the prompt return to faceto-face classes were determined. A binomial regression analysis, to estimate Prevalence Ratios (PR), adjusted for the age of the parents was carried out, taking as a dependent variable the acceptance of virtuality as a strategy for not returning to school and the most important factors in the non-acceptance of returning to school were determined. Results: 81.06% of the parents did not accept the return to class in person. The main factors associated with this decision were that one of the parents had some comorbidity, mainly hypertension, and obesity. Having children older than 10 years (PR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.48-4.72), living with people older than 70 years (PR: 2.2; 95% CI;1.46-3.29), and knowing someone who died from COVID-19 (PR: 1.86; 95% CI 1.42-2.44) were associated with not accepting the return to face classes. Conclusions: There is a clear tendency to maintain virtuality as an educational
option in Colombia for not returning to face-to-face classes in the middle and upper stratum population. Associated factors suggest a form of family protection. This evidence should be considered specific for the data collection period and the group included in the study. Studies are required in the lowest socioeconomic strata, where it is assumed that there are more adverse effects associated with not returning to face-to-face classes.
References
Fisher D, Teo YY, Nabarro D. Assessing national performance in response to COVID-19 -Lancet. 2020; 396(10252): 653-655. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31601-9
Rajgor DD, Lee MH, Archuleta S, Bagdasarian N, Quek SC. The many estimates of the COVID-19 case fatality rate. The Lancet Infect Diseases. 2020; 20(7): 776-777. doi: doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30244-9
Kaur S, Bherwani H, Gulia S, Vijay R, Kumar Rakesh. Understanding COVID-19 transmission, health impacts and mitigation: timely social distancing is the key. Environ Dev Sustain. 2020; 18: 1-17. doi: 10.1007/s10668-020-00884-x
Hiscott J, Alexandridi M, Muscolini M, Tassone E, Palermo, Soultsioti M, Zevini A. The global impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 2020; 53: 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2020.05.010
Bonell C, Melendez-Torres GJ, Viner RM, Brooke Rogers M, Whitworth M, Rutter H, et al. An evidence-based theory of change for reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in reopened schools. Health Place. 2020; 64:102398. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102398
Jackson C, Mangtani P, Hawker J, Olowokure B, Vynnycky E. The effects of school closures on influenza outbreaks and pandemics: systematic review of simulation studies. PLoS One. 2014; 9(5): e97297. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0097297
Lee J. Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2020; 4(6): 421. doi: 10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30109-7
Jeffs E, Lucas N, Walls T. CoVID-19: Parent and caregiver concerns about reopening New Zealand schools. J Paediatr Child Health. 2021; 57: 403-408. doi: 10.1111/jpc.15234
Jordan RE, Adab P, Cheng KK. Covid-19: risk factors for severe disease and death. BMJ. 2020; 26; 368: m1198. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m1198
Setiati S, Harimurti K, Safitri ED, Ranakusuma RW, Saldi SR, Azwae MK, et al. Risk factors and laboratory test results associated with severe illness and mortality in COVID-19 patients: A systematic review. Acta Med Indones. 2020; 52(3): 227-245.
Hossain MA, Jahid MIK, Hossain KMA, Walton LM, Uddin Z, Haque MO, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and fear of COVID-19 during the rapid rise period in Bangladesh. PLoS ONE. 2020; 15(9): e0239646. doi: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239646
Kroshus E, Hawrilenko M, Tandon P, Christakis D. Plans of US parents regarding school attendance for their children in the fall of 2020. JAMA Pediatr. 2020; 174(11): 1-10. doi 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.3864
Maltezou HC, Magaziotou I, Dedoukou X, Eleftheeriou E, Raftopoulos V, Michos A, et al. Children and Adolescents with SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Epidemiology, Clinical Course and Viral Loads. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2020; 39(12): 388-392. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000002899
Tezer H, Demirdağ TB. Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in children. Turk J Med Sci. 2020;50 (S1-1): 592-603. doi: 10.3906/sag-2004-174
Altmann DM. Children and the return to school: how much should we worry about covid-19 and long covid? BMJ. 2021; 15; 372: n701. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n701
Betz CL. COVID-19 and school return: The need and necessity. J Pediatr Nurs. 2020; 54: A7-A9. doi: 10.1016/j.pedn.2020.07.015
Belhadjer Z, Meot M, Bajolle F, Khraiche D, Legendre A, Abakka S, et al. Acute heart failure in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in the context of global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Circulation. 2020; 142(5): 429-436. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.048360
Dong Y, Mo X, Hu Y, Qi X, Jiang F, Jiang Z, et al. Epidemiological characteristics of 2143 pediatric patients with 2019 Coronavirus disease in China. Pediatrics. 2020; 145: e20200702. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-0702
Hoffman J, Miller E. Addressing the consequences of school closure due to COVID-19 on children’s physical and mental well-being. World Med Health Policy. 2020; doi: 10.1002/wmh3.365
Theurel-Martin DE, Gomez A, Saldarriaga D, Villegas-Lamus KC, Alvarado-Socarras JL. SARSCoV2 como causa de sepsis neonatal tardía, reporte de un caso. Salud UIS. 2020; 53(4): 456-460. doi: https://doi.org/10.18273/revsal.v52n4-2020013
Cho EY, Choi EH, Kim JH. Interpreting transmissibility of COVID-19 in children. Emerg Infect Dis. 2020; 26(12): 3106-3107. doi: 10.3201/eid2612.203452
Zhu Y, Bloxham CJ, Hulme KD, Sinclair JE, Marcus Tong ZW, Steele LE, et al. Children are unlikely to have been the primary source of household SARS-CoV-2 infections. SSRN J. 2020. doi: 10.1101/2020.03.26.20044826
Buonsenso D, Roland D, De Rose C, Vásquez-Hoyos P, Ramly B, Chakakala-Chaziya JN et al. Schools closures during the covid-19 pandemic: A catastrophic global situation. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2021; 40(4): 146-150. doi: 10.1097/INF.0000000000003052
American Academy of Pediatrics. COVID-19 Planning Considerations: Guidance for School Reentry; 2020.
Hendricks C, Green R. COVID-19 in children: Should we be worried? South African Med J. 2020; 110(9): 864. doi: 10.7196/SAMJ.2020.v110i9.15023
Engzell P, Frey A, Verhagen MD. Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2021; 118(17): e2022376118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2022376118
Viner R, Russell SJ, Croker H, Packer J , Ward J , Stansfield C, et al. School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including COVID-19: a rapid systematic review. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2020; 4(5): 397-404. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30095-X
Lo Moro G, Sinigaglia T, Bert F, Savatteri A, Gualano MR, Siliquini R. Reopening Schools during the COVID-19 Pandemic: overview and rapid systematic review of guidelines and recommendations on preventive measures and the management of cases. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(23): 8839. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17238839
Singh S, Roy D, Sinha K, Parveen S, Sharma G, Joshi G. Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: A narrative review with recommendations. Psychiatry Res. 2020; 293: 113429. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113429
Du L, Chen YM, Jin X, Yuan W, Wang JS. Critical appraisal of clinical practice guidelines for depression in children and adolescents: A protocol for systematic review. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020; 99(38): 22384. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000022384
Marques de Miranda D, da Silva Athanasio B, Sena Oliveira AC, Simoes-E-Silva AC. How is COVID-19 pandemic impacting mental health of children and adolescents? Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2020; 51: 101845. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101845
García de Ávila MA, Hamamoto Filho PT, Da silva Jacob FL, Souza Alcantara LR, Berghammer M, Jenholt Nolbris M, et al. Children’s anxiety and factors related to the COVID-19 Pandemic: An exploratory study using the children’s anxiety questionnaire and the numerical rating scale. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020; 17(16): 5757. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17165757
López Bueno R, López Sanchez G, Casajus JA, Calatayud J, Gil-Salmerón A, Grabovac I, et al. Health-related behaviors among school-aged children and adolescents during the Spanish Covid-19 Confinement. Front Pediatr. 2020; 8: 573.doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00573
Nonweiler J, Rattray F, Baulcomb J, Happé F, Absoud M. Prevalence and associated factors of emotional and behavioural difficulties during COVID-19 pandemic in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Children 2020; 7(9) 128. doi: 10.3390/children7090128
Reyes M. Research in the Time of COVID-19: Challenges of research ethics committees. J ASEAN Fed Endoc Societies. 2020; 35(1): 29-32. doi: 10.15605/jafes.035.01.07
Guidance for Managing Ethical Issues in Infectious Disease Outbreaks. World Health Organization; 2016.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2021 Jorge Alvarado, Doris Cristina Quintero-Lesmes, Juan Carlos Carmona-Valle, Maritza Franco-Lopez